Bottom Line:
When emotional face stimuli were given to children with ASD, various areas of the social brain relevant to social cognition showed reduced activation.Specifically, ASD children exhibited less activation in the right amygdala (AMY), right superior temporal sulcus (STS) and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) than TDC group when fearful faces were shown.Similar findings were also found in left superior insular gyrus and right insula in case of neutral stimulation.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate abnormal findings of social brain network in Korean children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with typically developing children (TDC).

Methods: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed to examine brain activations during the processing of emotional faces (happy, fearful, and neutral) in 17 children with ASD, 24 TDC.

Results: When emotional face stimuli were given to children with ASD, various areas of the social brain relevant to social cognition showed reduced activation. Specifically, ASD children exhibited less activation in the right amygdala (AMY), right superior temporal sulcus (STS) and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) than TDC group when fearful faces were shown. Activation of left insular cortex and right IFG in response to happy faces was less in the ASD group. Similar findings were also found in left superior insular gyrus and right insula in case of neutral stimulation.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that children with ASD have different processing of social and emotional experience at the neural level. In other words, the deficit of social cognition in ASD could be explained by the deterioration of the capacity for visual analysis of emotional faces, the subsequent inner imitation through mirror neuron system (MNS), and the ability to transmit it to the limbic system and to process the transmitted emotion.

Mentions:
On the other hand, there were areas in which the ASD group showed higher activation than the TDC group. For the fearful faces, the ASD group showed higher activation of the dorsal posterior cingulate gyrus (p=0.0024, uncorrected), left superior frontal gyrus (p=0.00005, uncorrected), and left inferior frontal sulcus (p=0.00002, uncorrected) areas than the TDC group; and for the happy faces, the ASD group showed higher activation of the right occipital gyrus (p=0.0002, uncorrected) and left superior temporal gyrus (p=0.0001, uncorrected) areas than the TDC group. For the neutral faces, the ASD group showed higher activation of the right parietal lobe (p=0.0003, uncorrected), right precuneus (p=0.0005, uncorrected), and right middle frontal gyrus (p=0.0009, uncorrected) areas than the TDC group. Table 2 and Figure 2 summarize the brain activation for each emotional face, and the comparison of the BOLD response between the two groups.

Mentions:
On the other hand, there were areas in which the ASD group showed higher activation than the TDC group. For the fearful faces, the ASD group showed higher activation of the dorsal posterior cingulate gyrus (p=0.0024, uncorrected), left superior frontal gyrus (p=0.00005, uncorrected), and left inferior frontal sulcus (p=0.00002, uncorrected) areas than the TDC group; and for the happy faces, the ASD group showed higher activation of the right occipital gyrus (p=0.0002, uncorrected) and left superior temporal gyrus (p=0.0001, uncorrected) areas than the TDC group. For the neutral faces, the ASD group showed higher activation of the right parietal lobe (p=0.0003, uncorrected), right precuneus (p=0.0005, uncorrected), and right middle frontal gyrus (p=0.0009, uncorrected) areas than the TDC group. Table 2 and Figure 2 summarize the brain activation for each emotional face, and the comparison of the BOLD response between the two groups.

Bottom Line:
When emotional face stimuli were given to children with ASD, various areas of the social brain relevant to social cognition showed reduced activation.Specifically, ASD children exhibited less activation in the right amygdala (AMY), right superior temporal sulcus (STS) and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) than TDC group when fearful faces were shown.Similar findings were also found in left superior insular gyrus and right insula in case of neutral stimulation.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate abnormal findings of social brain network in Korean children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with typically developing children (TDC).

Methods: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed to examine brain activations during the processing of emotional faces (happy, fearful, and neutral) in 17 children with ASD, 24 TDC.

Results: When emotional face stimuli were given to children with ASD, various areas of the social brain relevant to social cognition showed reduced activation. Specifically, ASD children exhibited less activation in the right amygdala (AMY), right superior temporal sulcus (STS) and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) than TDC group when fearful faces were shown. Activation of left insular cortex and right IFG in response to happy faces was less in the ASD group. Similar findings were also found in left superior insular gyrus and right insula in case of neutral stimulation.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that children with ASD have different processing of social and emotional experience at the neural level. In other words, the deficit of social cognition in ASD could be explained by the deterioration of the capacity for visual analysis of emotional faces, the subsequent inner imitation through mirror neuron system (MNS), and the ability to transmit it to the limbic system and to process the transmitted emotion.